Pew: 68% of U.S. adults now own a smartphone, 45% have a tablet

More than two-thirds of Americans now own a smartphone, and almost half have a tablet.

The latest findings come from American think tank Pew. More specifically, the organization found that 68 percent of U.S. adults now have a smartphone, up from 35 percent in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has grown to 45 percent among adults, up from 4 percent in 2010.

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Among U.S. adults under 30, computer ownership is falling as smartphone ownership grows: 78 percent of Americans under 30 years old own a laptop or desktop computer, compared with 88 percent who did so in 2010. Smartphone ownership, on the other hand, has surpassed both laptops and desktops, with 86 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds owning one in 2015.

Meanwhile, desktop and laptop ownership is largely flat, as are the numbers for game consoles and portable game devices. MP3 players and e-readers, have, however, fallen since 2010.

Other key findings of the report break down the results:

• 73 percent of U.S. adults own a desktop or laptop computer, a figure that is similar to the 71 percent of those who owned a computer or laptop in 2004 and down somewhat from a high of 80 percent in 2012.
• 40 percent of adults report having a gaming console — a number that has not budged in five years.
• 40 percent of adults own an MP3 player, down from the high mark of 47 percent in 2010.
• 14 percent of adults own a portable game device, similar to the share who owned one in 2009.
• Today, 19 percent of adults report owning an e-reader, while in early 2014 that share was 32 percent.

The results are based on questions asked during telephone interviews conducted in English and Spanish between March 17 and April 12, 2015 among a national sample of 1,907 adults (age 18 and older). Pew’s smartphone data is based on questions asked during telephone interviews between June 10 and July 12, 2015. That sample consisted of 2,001 U.S. adults (age 18 and older).

You can read the full 26-page report here: Technology Device Ownership: 2015 (PDF).